Long Beach Naval Shipyard

I couldn’t agree more with The Times’ editorial that the defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission should seriously reconsider the recommendation to close the Long Beach Naval Shipyard (“Another Blow to the Region,” March 2).

The Pentagon’s logic in closing this facility simply does not make sense. Long Beach is the most cost-effective and most modern naval shipyard in the country. It has a large dry-dock capable of servicing any ship in the Navy’s inventory. It has the largest dry-dock capability south of Puget Sound and is located close to Navy fleet concentrations in Southern California.

As The Times points out, Long Beach has operated in the black since 1988. The shipyard employs 3,500 skilled and dedicated people and contributes more than $750 million to the local economy. To close this facility is simply wrong.

The former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Collin Powell was correct when he said in 1991: ‘Closure of Long Beach Naval shipyard would seriously degrade the dry dock capability for all large ships in the Southern California area. Alternatives in Hawaii and Washington simply could not provide the services found at Long Beach.”

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN

D-Calif., Washington

* Thank you for your welcome editorial on saving Long Beach Naval Shipyard. I was particularly pleased to recognize The Times’ immediate grasp of excess capacity as a motivator for closing shipyards. Here are some supporting facts your readers will find interesting.

The Navy has 44% excess ship repair capacity. By closing LBNSY, excess capacity will be reduced by only 23%. Closing Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Virginia, as a comparison, would reduce excess capacity a justifiable 69%.

Akin to excess capacity is the issue of nuclear vs. non-nuclear capacity. Of the remaining five public shipyards, only LBNSY is non-nuclear, meaning that nuclear powered vessels cannot undergo refueling or reactor repairs and alignments here. By the year 2001, the Navy will have deactivated half of its nuclear submarine fleet and will have only 13 active nuclear-powered surface vessels. The vast majority of the Navy’s 350 ships will be conventionally powered. LBNSY is the last conventional shipyard. Closing it will misalign repair capability with fleet structure.

BILL GURZI, Chairman

Save Our Shipyard

Long Beach